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Sunday, March 18, 2007

Not in My Name Either

So today we are going to discuss yesterday and what it takes to get a moonbat to walk away from an anti-Iraq war rally, the very March on the Pentagon. Loved the March. Being confronted by screaming hordes of mostly men swathed in black leather biker jackets and calling for us to be hanged, sorta lights a fire under you. So does the hilariousness of the counter-demonstrators trying to claim more of them came than those protesting the war. Enough is enough. How is it scandalous to hint at holding critical thoughts of those serving in the armed forces, and anyone who has served becomes a protected elite and free to conduct themselves in any manner in public? One key lesson that should come of this is that American should be made to face the unforgivable tactics of those who call for the mass slaughter of their fellow Americans. To call someone a traitor is to advocate for their death, and this thirst for bloodshed is the growing battle cry of those who advocate unending military involvement in Iraq. America needs to take a hard look, and the left should be ready at the next rally to provide unflinching documentation of this poison.

Let me take a little moment to give a shout out to the D.C. police, who handled themselves with remarkable decorum and efficiency, and whose mounted presence was crucial to the lack of violence at both the march and the rally. Thanks to the men and women in blue. And the horses. Love the horses.

But the rally broke my bleeding heart, which of course is hard to do as it is wet and soggy with the tears I cry over the state of the world. But the rally broke my heart indeed, and Cynthia McKinney torched the ruins. Standing there in my khaki slacks and a Mossimo jacket, I looked nothing like my fellow demonstrators (which did mean I wasn't harassed walking to the gathering point for the march). And the numbers for the march were again, as they were a year ago, not high enough. The devote anti-war contingent of the Left needs to take a hard look at the result of calling Democrats collaborators in torture and war crimes, especially since the movement has its hand out so often. Iraq is not the only goal, and whatever aid the anti-war movement gave towards the recovery of House and Senate last fall for the Democratic Party, we do not have a veto proof majority. Congress literally has not the ability to force complete withdrawal (which I don't advocate anyway), so denouncing the Democratic majority for not providing it only shows an extreme level of policial immaturity. Not a very pretty sight. Ire raised, I left and headed off to a family birthday party. And I love the cold. Et tu, Brute?

I will confess that the anti-war movement has made visible progress since last year's rally, which some of you might remember from the scant coverage that it received. I shall hear admit that I ran into the group World Can't Wait when they showed up at a pro-Wall of TexoChina rally. I rambled into the frakking thing, going from one Smithsonian Museum to another. Started chanting "Save the Cheap Lettuce." Got a shout out from the organizer for being disrespectful. Got joined in booing the rally by... a group of parents on a school field trip... from Texas. Texans ... booing the Wall. Go figure. Anyways, a passing officer worker text messaged a member of World Can't Wait, and they showed up with a few signs and [i]they[/i] made the photo for the Washington Post. Instead of me, the instigator of the whole counter-protest. As a random aside note, Nazis showed up to support the Wall of TexoChina, in full regalia. Oops.

So I got curious and showed up at two World Can't Wait meetings, which were Wednesday night in a basement of a row house near Union Station. I'm still on their email list. World Can't Wait leaned more towards "Bush Step Down" in those days over impeachment, which they saw as impossible and a validation of a system of corruption in Congress. Or something. I chastised them for that. And also their terrible fliers, full of quotes from Hollywood celebs and not facts and statistics. And for the silly bandannas over the faces bit. And for allowing the other side to frame themselves as the only ones holding the Stars and Stripes. And for not being able to explain their organization goals. The floor went on to another woman, who remarked at length about how all our lives were in danger because the CIA might "get us." Sigh. By the second meeting they were trying to arrange movie nights and facing up to the problem of their rent being $1100 a month for a basement. So I bailed and went back to Drinking Liberally.

The March reflected honest growth, some reclaiming of the right to call oneself a patriot and fly the colors, although bandannas still cropped up here and there. Really, it wasn't that cold. The signs were better, clearer, but the message coming from the speakers was not. Several were off topic, several attacked allies more than they criticized either the Bush administration of the conduct of Pentagon officials. Organizers recruited veterans and soldiers who had served in Iraq to speak, and that deserves especial kudos. But at some point, the anti-war left has to embrace the idea that speeches are a kind of art, and need polish and cohesion. And although I admire the dedication of Mama Moonbat Cindy Sheehan, no one should stand up in front of the crowd and call for people to not pay their taxes. When there's a shortfall, it won't be military funding that suffers, but domestic programs and the salaries of government employees, like myself. Although it commendable, the lenght that speakers went to in order to be respectful of all soldiers and veterans on both sides of the line, since the march was on the Pentagon, the speakers missed the mark time and again. Pentagon officials bear some responsibility for the fiasco in Iraq, yet their guilt was avoided by and large. More marches there should be, but the anti-war left will have to choose the goal of sanity in America's policy towards Iraq, and form coalitions with the liberal majority that is not inherently anti-all-war.

More flags. Clear documentation of what those who support unending war in Iraq are advocating be done with those Americans who disagree. More outreach towards the populations of the states surrounding the march site, so that the general liberal public doesn't find out about the march a week before hand from a tiny poster on a random city street light. Coordinated blogger coverage, utilization of YouTube, and more training of groups and organization members in dealing with resistance met along the march route. There are needed reforms to the anti-war movement, and until the lead dogs like answer find a way to address them, they will not come up with the numbers of marchers needed to really surround the Pentagon again.